asylum
by silver moon droplet
Summary: for courtney: he couldn't place it, this feeling it drove him insane. [namiku.kaiora]


**WORDS FROM THE AUTHORESS**

**I started this many moons ago, and holy crap it's long! Like almost an epic by my standards! Anyways the main pairing of Namiku and Kaiora is applied. This is like Lunamaria's prize fanfiction from my first contest I believe she won third place or maybe second I can't remember. As with any fanfiction, I don't know kingdom hearts however I so own this idea. **

**So without further delay. **

**-- - ---- - --**

**× × × A s y l u m × × ×**

**-- - ---- - --**

He sat in the white room with his eyes closed. His silver hair was so misplaced in the white room, with his white clothes and his white socks. All the white was killing him, but never driving him insane. 'You can't become what you already are', he mused. The door opened letting in a beautiful and colorful world, a girl was shoved in. She clutched her sketch book closely to her chest, the door slam shut and she dropped to the floor. He opened one eye lazily; observing her. She was shaking; her blond hair lay in her face covering her blue eyes that were filled with tears. She was scared; he noted opening his other eye with slight interest.

He got up, holding out his hand to her, he smiled friendly. "Why are you here?"

She looked at him intensely, he felt small under her gaze despite the fact he was a head taller than her.

"I don't belong here." She said finally, ignoring his hand, she lifted herself up.

He looked at her dumbfounded.

"I'm not crazy." she added going to the table, taking a seat in the white chair.

"Of course you're not, that's why you're here." He said with a small chuckle.

She opened up her sketch book, ignoring him. He crossed his arms, she had barely known him for five minutes and he had determined that she hated him. He was right as usual; he crept up behind her and peered over her shoulder. She was too lost in her drawing to notice him. He blinked in surprise. It was him a beautiful picture of him, and he noticed she had looked up from the drawing. Perhaps looking for her subject, he smirked putting his hands on her bare shoulders. She jumped, turning to him in a flash, scowling when she had regained composure.

"Who are you?"

"Riku, and yourself?"

"Naminé."

The door opened again, he froze when the doctor came to take him out. She had probably been watching the two of them he thought bitterly, glaring at the white walls. He felt her gaze on him, watching him as he left. He smiled; maybe she didn't hate him as much as he thought she did. He was lead to his room by the doctor, that smile she always had plastered on her face. He squinted his eyes, looking into the colorful world. His thoughts wandered back to the girl he had met in the white room, Naminé, he wondered if he would see her again. He sat down next to his roommate, Sora, who believed the heartless were going to attack other worlds and he had to beat them down with his keyblade, which was a broom. Sora was generally a peaceful laid back teenager, minus the broom and the odd twitching habit he was almost sane, almost.

"How was the white room?" Sora asked quickly. Judging by the way he was holding his 'keyblade' there was a heartless nearby.

"Interesting," Riku replied, quickly dodging the brunette's 'keyblade' as he thrust it at the silver haired boy. He smiled as if nothing happened, routine even.

"Oh?" he asked with wonder. "Are you going to apologize to Kairi for stealing her heart?"

Riku scowled. "I didn't steal her heart; honestly, you believe anything she says just because she claims to be a damn princess."

"A princess of heart," Sora corrected him automatically.

Riku sighed, messing with Sora's gravity defying hair. He smiled, "I met a girl."

Sora's eyes widened looking around he dropped his keyblade quietly then turned to Riku. "Is she crazy like you?"

Riku suppressed a laugh. "No Sora, she says she isn't crazy."

Sora rolled his eyes, picking his keyblade back up.

"Riku they all say that!" he swung it at the lamp shade. "You know what the princess says about giving your heart away to a crazy girl." Riku picked up the lamp shade and tossed it to Sora, who swung at it again. He watched Sora jump on it whacking it with his keyblade.

"It's the worse kind of love." he continued when Riku didn't respond.

"You would know." He mumbled, looking out the window. It was a nice day, filled with rain clouds and thunder storms. He smiled what he wouldn't give to dance in the rain; he had been locked up so long. He was lucky everyone loved Sora; otherwise he probably wouldn't have got a window place. He was also lucky that he was the only patient aside from Kairi that Sora didn't claim to be a heartless or nobody.

"So what makes her different?"

"She had something from the outside."

"What?"

"A sketch book."

"She's an artist?"

"She's amazing."

Sora sat quietly for awhile soaking it all in, occasionally looking up at Riku. Then he smiled; a classic cheesy Sora smile, he stood up walking over to him.

"You like her a lot huh. "

Riku blinked, but before he could reply Sora was bowing on the ground. Riku looked up at her; she was beautiful with her auburn hair, violet eyes and fair skin. She glared at Riku, and then smiled sweetly at her bowing subject.

"Knight!" the girl known as Kairi called. Sora stood up, glancing at her gleefully. "We have a new subject in our midst, also my new lady-in-waiting" she pointed to Naminé. "Olette got let out." she added sadly. Riku looked up at Naminé who smiled at him. "You," she pointed Riku in his chest, "will go no where near her. Or it's off with your head, Heart thief!" she turned to Sora. "Since you are my best knight will you show her around? I would but I haven't the time."

Riku rolled his eyes, but Sora just saluted her, nodding vigorously. Naminé smiled for the first time since Riku had seen her, she was radiant. Whatever moment Riku was having was interrupted by Sora who was dragging Naminé off giving her the grand tour. Kairi was out of sight, so Riku chased after them besides, since when did Riku listen to her.

Naminé took to Sora a lot better than she did to him, a pang of jealously swept through him. He shook his head, he didn't like her; besides, Sora was pining over Kairi, anyone who was sane or insane, could see that. He shook his head, but it didn't matter if she liked Sora or not, she could like Sora all she wanted. He didn't care. Not even a little bit. He followed them, to make sure Sora wouldn't attack the poor girl, claiming that she was a heartless or a nobody.

"So do you like it?" he heard Sora ask.

She shook her head, but her voice was so quiet he couldn't make out the words. He sighed, why was he sneaking around anyways, he wondered as he watched Sora enviously. Why couldn't he make her smile like that? He was so lost in his owns thoughts that he lost them, he cursed to himself. He decided to go back to his room because Sora had made it clear that he was going to be acting sane while Naminé was around. Besides, he could have got caught, and then he would have to explain himself. He caught himself doing it again, caring about her, he shook his head walking into his room and turning on the television only to be stopped by Kairi.

"You have my heart!" she shrilled.

Riku flinched; he didn't want to deal with this right now; looking around for the nearest object he picked it up and gave it to her.

"There's your stupid heart, now get out of my room!"

She smiled, satisfied; she pranced out of his room without a care in the world. He sighed, that girl was something else. He and Kairi had probably been there the longest, and over the years with Kairi he had learned, if you push her enough, she'll go away. He had nothing against the girl; it was just sometimes the way Sora fawned over her got annoying. He sighed, if he didn't know any better he would say that she had got worse with Sora here. He smiled, he wouldn't know what they would do without Sora, he wasn't with them since the beginning but nobody would ever know that.

They had a strange friendship the three of them, formed by Kairi with her dragging him over to meet her newest play thing, a boy that Riku liked right away. He never knew why, but there was something about the way Sora was. Ever since he came, the three have been inseparable. He wondered if it would be that way with Naminé. He yawned, if she stole Sora from Kairi it would be off with all their heads. Especially Riku's because somehow, someway, it was always his fault.

**- - ---- - --**

Riku awoke the next morning with Sora tapping him on the head with his keyblade. Riku groggily rolled out of bed, looking at Sora who was beaming at him. Riku glared, how Sora managed to be awake, chipper and happy this early in the morning was beyond him. Sora was blabbering on about some doctor named Ansem, who was the ultimate darkness master or something like that. Riku had to say, Ansem deserved to be in the loony bin more then he did, but no darkness.

"Are you listening?" Sora demanded, hands on his hips. Riku laughed shaking his head; Sora was like a nagging house wife, only less sane.

Sora sighed; he hated repeating himself after all. "I said, I think Naminé likes you."

Riku yawned again. "So?" he asked absently minded.

Sora blinked, then looked at Riku then blinked again. "What do you mean so?"

"Add her to the list?" Riku joked. It was true; Riku had quite a few fan girls, one being a girl who thinks she's a ninja, who scared him very much.

"Yeah." Sora laughed nervously.

Riku looked at his friend, but he was skipping ahead of him to the dining hall. He decided to drop it and follow his friend to the food. There was one good thing about being put in an asylum when you're young; you have nothing to compare the food to. Sora claimed that his school lunches tasted better, but after a few years he stopped complaining and got used to it.

Naminé spat out the first bite before she got chewing; gagging she pushed it away shaking her head.

"Are you trying to kill me!" she screamed. The group flinched when the doctors came over to check out the fuss.

Riku stood up.

"It was my fault," he started before he could stop himself. "I put her posies in her drink."

The doctors blinked, confused by Riku's behavior but Cid reacted faster than Sora could talk about heartless. Cid grabbed his arm.

"To the white room with your ass." Riku smirked when he blew the cigarette smoke in his face, he had struck a nerve.

Naminé watched them take Riku away, scowling at him. Riku would have laughed if he wasn't so confused. Cid threw him into the white room, Riku sighed he would probably get longer than usual. Maybe a few days or so, he shook his head sitting at the white table, staring at the white table, wondering the same thing everyone else was. What the hell did he do that for? He thought about what Sora had asked before, replaying memories back in forth in his head. It kept him from begging and pleading to get out of the room. The sickening white room, the white didn't bother him; it was a nice change of scenery from the colorful world of the outside to the white world of the inside.

He fell asleep on the white table; he shot up when the door opened. It was Naminé; he sat up confused staring at her.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

She glared at him, walking over to him. "I don't need you to fight my own battles," she hissed.

"You're welcome."

She sat by the table once more opening up her sketch book, looking up she added. "Don't move this time."

"I won't," he smirked.

He was true to his word, he watched her silently her soft strokes at the sketch pad, she was in her own world. He smiled closing his eyes, drifting off.

"Why are you in here?" she asked, suddenly, breaking the silence in the white room.

"In this room?" She shook her head, looking up at him.

"That's obvious, I mean why are you here in the nuthouse?" she looked away from him. "You look pretty sane."

"Looks can be deceiving." He said coldly standing up, he stared at the white walls. "Besides, I asked you first."

"I…he said….that I killed someone…by breaking their memories…" she stumbled on her words like a child. "I told them, I thought I could control people's memories…he said I was crazy…."

"Who did?"

She shook her head, returning to her picture. He sighed, sitting back down closing his eyes shut.

"I was out of hand when I was young, my parents couldn't handle it so they sent Kairi and I here."

"Kairi's your—"

"Adoptive sister, but I doubt she remembers."

"How were you out of hand?"

"My parents they were scientists, they tested things. I, I was their prime subject, they used me as a lab rat." he stopped, standing up. "They run this place."

"So you aren't crazy?"

"No. I'm a special case."

"Wait, what?"

The door opened, he smirked at her. "When you're ready to finish, so will I, see you tomorrow."

When Kairi screamed, it was earth shattering, window breaking, and glass cracking loud. Mercifully, the princess of heart didn't do it often, but when she did one could never forget the sound. So when Sora started running out of the room while Riku was covering his ears, he knew right away that something was wrong. Quickly rushing to his friend's aid he ran after Sora, Kairi was hysterical. The doctors were trying to drag her away, he watched as they calmed her knight with an injection of some medicine. Kairi was sobbing, grabbing the bed post she shrilled when they shot her with it. Her fingers slowly let go of the bed post, her eyes rolling around in their sockets. Riku stared at the scene shocked.

Naminé squeeze Riku's arm, he looked at her. "They're releasing her." she whispered.

"Are they fucking crazy?"

"Riku, get back to your room," grunted one of the doctors.

He looked at Naminé, but she was gone. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath then went to his room. Sora was asleep in his bed, he wandered over to the window watching the doctors take away the auburn girl in a car; he flinched when he saw the driver. Turning his attention back to Sora; he would not be happy when he woke up. He had to think, come up with a plan; Kairi couldn't survive without Sora or Riku.

She clearly wasn't sane, so why did they let her out? Riku thought and thought until his head ached. It didn't make any sense; Kairi hadn't seen that outside world in over ten years, sending her out there without anything from the inside would kill her. He needed to find a way to get her back inside; he stopped, or he had to find a way to get them outside. He smiled; the idea forming in his head was just crazy enough to work.

**- - ---- - --**

Riku was right; when Sora awoke he wasn't happy. He was very unhappy as a matter of fact. He was punching the wall, screaming bloody murder because they had taken his keyblade and his princess away. Sora wasn't sane, but he was in love with her; any person could appreciate that. Riku managed to calm Sora down before the doctors could break out the medicine, which was something he was thankful for. He needed someone sane to help him with this, or someone who could really not act rash. Then he needed someone like him, a special case; he walked into her room.

She was drawing, soundless tears falling down her face. Her room was a mess, papers everywhere, glass broken on the floor, everything was so disorganized and falling a part. She was drawing with a scowl on her face, which was very unlike her; she was normally very serene when she was drawing. But she wasn't today; he stepped over a ripped doodle that was on the floor, he fumbled through all the chaos. She didn't look up at him; she didn't stop crying, she just kept drawing.

"We're going to break out," he said quietly, observing her. "Its like you said, we don't belong here and Kairi…needs us." She looked up at him, blankly; then went back to her drawing, semi-paying attention to Riku's existence. "A long time ago," he went on. "This was my room, it-it's changed; but there is one thing I know about, that I bet Kairi didn't tell you about." He moved over to Kairi's old bed, watching the closed door then he moved it, as the girl's bed moved. A big gaping hole came into view, it wasn't that big but she could most definitely fit in there. She stood up, staring at it in amazement; then she looked up at him with a smile.

"What do you want me to do?" she watched him move the bed back.

He smirked. "I thought that might get you on our side. I need you to found out where Kairi has being taken to."

"Where am I supposed to find that?"

"From the person who allowed you to bring that sketch book in." he laughed, sitting down on the bed. "I always wondered why Cid let you take that in, do tell."

She stared at him, flushing she averted her gaze from him staring at the floor. He smiled, but inside he was burning with jealousy and rage, he hated being right. His cool face would never show it, he was too arrogant to admit it so he was safe for the time being.

"So can you do it?" he asked.

"Is that all you need to found out?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes, I can do it, but could we not mention it again—I wouldn't have done it otherwise—but under special circumstances I—I don't do that all the time, just so you know."

"Wasn't going to ask," he said simply. He walked out of her room, but instead of going to his he had to do something. He gulped, something that was suicidal, but it was for Kairi and Sora. He had to.

Riku was sitting in his room, staring out the window; waiting and sitting. Sitting and waiting, watching Sora pace up and down the hall and waiting. He hated waiting, it wasn't his thing. So when Naminé came running in near out of breath he was happy, thankful. He didn't question her attire which consisted of a shirt that wasn't hers and pants that weren't hers. Freedom was only moments away, he ran out of the hallway.

"Sora!" Sora looked up grinning, this was the part of the plan he had been waiting for.

"SQUAK!" he yelled, causing Riku to roll his eyes. His fan girls shortly went into action, doing what crazy mobbing fan girls do best, cause complete and total mayhem. They were the perfect diversion, making their escape almost too easy. Naminé was the first one into the hole, followed by Sora and then Riku.

They all had a motive; Sora's was to be with Kairi, his princess. He could care less about anything else, sane or not he loved that girl with all his heart. Naminé's was to escape, escape from this dreaded place that whoever he was, had sent her to; to be sane, and hopefully to be free. But what about Riku, he had never gone outside the asylum walls, it didn't matter what he wanted he would find it, later.

The outside was so colorful, so bright and beautiful. They stepped out of the sewer; she glared at him because god only knew where they were. It was Riku's idea, so it was Riku's fault. He laughed, Sora shrugged they didn't know where the hell they were but it didn't matter because they were free.

Well almost.

Riku looked at Naminé; he felt his stomach drop she didn't have any reason to stay with them anymore. It clicked.

"You're gonna stick around to make sure we don't get ourselves lost, right?"

She looked at him, sighing and shaking her head. "What would you two do with out me?"

He honestly didn't know, he had known her four days and somehow she had managed to worm her way into his heart.

"Where is Kairi?" Sora asked.

"Destiny Island." she replied softly.

"Let's go!" Sora grinned.

She looked at Riku who smiled at her. "Lead the way."

She had never played leader before, she was pretty good at it. When they got on the train, all the questions Riku had were answered and the few Sora asked when he wasn't staring out the window, too. Sora fell asleep on the way to rescue his princess, Naminé's head rested on Riku's shoulder. She was drawing the knight in his sleep and Riku was staring out the window observing the world that was passing him by.

He wished the train ride would last forever that they could just stay like this. Riku knew better, he knew that when they found Kairi Naminé would go and she'd be lost forever. He knew that he would have to stay with Kairi and Sora because he was the only sane one that could keep it together. He was going to lose her, which was funny because he never really had her.

He had known her four days, but it seemed so much longer because it takes longer then that, doesn't it? The train stopped, and she rose to wake Sora, who jumped up as soon as she touched him. They were walking out of the train and into the town square.

"We're almost there!" she said with a fake happiness. He caught it; he thought about it, it couldn't be.

Sora ignored it, because it didn't matter his princess was moments away, soon she would be in his arms. Riku wanted his own princess, he thought bitterly as he slowly fell behind the two. She stopped and smiled at him, it made his chest ache.

"C'mon Riku!" she called.

He walked a little faster, reluctantly, watching Sora run ahead to his princess his beautiful—dead—princess. Riku froze staring at her body lying on the beach, he couldn't move. She was dead; he looked at Naminé, she didn't say a word. She stared at Kairi's corpse, tears rolling down her face. He stood in the rain watching his world fall a part. He watched Sora scream and cry, he watched the ambulance come and take Kairi away. He watched the doctors come back to take them away, he watched his world pass him by.

**- - ---- - --**

When Kairi died, it killed a little piece of all of them. Sora was sent to a different asylum, because his memories of Kairi were just making his condition worst. Riku spent the rest of his life in the white room, losing his freedom, his friends, everything. That was his price for freedom, his one taste of freedom. He lost everything.

It drove him insane.

--le fin.

**WORDS FROM THE AUTHORESS  
That was the longest thing I have ever written, the first time I have every killed Kairi and the most awesome idea ever. I know there was a lot of stuff I didn't explain in this. I hope you enjoyed reading it, please tell me what you think. Thanks to rochelle for beta-ing. **

**Review darlings. **


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